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Water damage, plus Stachybotrys mold growth in the technology
classroom of Nathan Hale High School in Seattle, Washington.
Read
Mold Legal Guide
as an in depth introduction to both
sides of the key mold legal issues and of the essential claims and defenses
in mold lawsuits.
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Please visit other
school mold pages:
[School-Mold-Problem] [School-Mold-Health-Symptoms] [School-Mold-Inspection-Testing]
New Medical Study Links Damp School
Buildings to
Respiratory Health Problems for Teachers and Students
“An association between working and/or residing in damp buildings and
respiratory health has been reported in a number of studies…Longtime
exposure to building dampness may increase the risk for hyperreactivity of
the upper air-ways. This acquired hyperreactivity may last for years and
decrease only slowly, even after the indoor climate has been properly
improved.”---from the study conclusion of Stig Rudblad of the famous
Karolinska Medical Institute of Stockholm Sweden, in the medical
research study “Nasal mucosal reactivity after long-time exposure to
building dampness,” published on October 15, 2004, by the Institute. [The
human subjects in the study were teachers and students in school buildings
with known dampness problems, as compared to a control group of teachers and
students in buildings with no known moisture problems.]
Suits filed against Florida school boards
Washington Times newspaper, March 3, 2004
WASHINGTON, March 2 (UPI) -- The law firm of Babbitt,
Johnson, Osborne & Le Clainche Tuesday announced it had filed 11
suits over alleged toxic mold in two Florida schools.
The suits were filed against the
Charlotte and Sarasota County school boards and contractors and
builders by parents who assert their children got sick as a result
of the school systems' failure to address mold problems.
These are the first major suits on
mold in schools on Florida's west coast, but are preceded by
similar suits in Broward County.
In April 2003, a Broward County
grand jury issued a report condemning the Broward School District
for lagging in its efforts to get rid of mold. The county
responded by launching a comprehensive remediation program but
still was sued by parents concerned with their children's health.
State Sen. Skip Campbell of Coral
Springs has introduced a legislative bill to make Broward's
program mandatory statewide.
Parents push for more mold tests in Spring-Ford school
|
| Sarah V. Sando ,
Special to The Mercury newspaper, Philadelphia, Pa. |
03/13/2004 |
|
ROYERSFORD -- Some parents in the Spring-Ford Area School
District are still not satisfied with the district’s
air-quality testing.
Karl
and Associates, a private environmental firm in Mohnton,
Berks County, conducted air-quality testing of all
district schools in early 2002. According to the firm’s
findings, the schools tested have not been found to have
hazardous levels of microbes, including mold.
But a few parents want more testing done, especially in
the middle school.
Spring-Ford Superintendent Genevieve Coale said the
district has followed the recommendations of Karl and
Associates, including improving filter efficiency in
heating and air-conditioning units and limiting the use of
house plants.
"We’ve tested and retested and retested," Coale said.
"They haven’t, in any instance, said to me, ‘There is mold
here, and we want you to clean it up.’"
But parent Polly Moore Keyser isn’t satisfied.
Keyser’s daughter, Sarah Moore, suffered six sinus
infections, three cases of strep throat, a three-month
bout with bronchitis and a serious case of pneumonia over
eight months during the 2002-03 school year.
"Sarah has been treated on a regular basis for perennial
allergies and asthma, complicated by a history of
recurrent sinusitis and asthmatic bronchitis," said Wendy
Fuhr, Sarah’s pediatrician. "These episodes have grown
increasingly frequent and severe over the last year, since
Sarah has been attending the middle school."
According to Fuhr, Sarah’s condition has been exacerbated
by the presence of mold in her school.
"To have there be a concern or an unsafe level of fungi,
there has to be a statistically higher concentration
indoors," said Lisa Krug, a senior industrial hygienist
and safety specialist for Karl and Associates. "Samples we
took from several random areas of the schools do not show
a statistically higher concentration."
The testing involved taking samples of indoor areas and
comparing the concentrations of airborne microbes with
outdoor samples.
"We found in later testing that the cladosporium had
grown," Keyser said. "I talked to the school board to
report the problem, and they just looked at me like I was
from outer space."
Keyser urged the school district to take action.
"The bad mold found in the middle school should be enough
of a catalyst to close and completely clean the school,"
Keyser said. "The cover-up and dishonesty should not be
allowed to continue."
Coale said the district routinely checks the schools as a
preventive measure.
Coale said that on the recommendations of Karl and
Associates, the district has investigated options to
improve humidity qualities in the schools.
Several parents have requested that the district perform
wall-boring testing, which would involve drilling holes
into the walls and taking samples for testing.
"It’s a 10-second procedure," said Barbara Hagan, who
believes her son suffers from asthma as a result of black
mold in Spring-Ford Intermediate School. "I even offered
to pay for it myself ..(including) the wall repairs after
the wall boring."
Coale said the district is not willing to conduct
wall-boring testing.
Spring-Ford plans to close the middle school in June.
Beginning this fall, middle school students will attend
the new flex school on Lewis Road, and the current middle
school will be renovated. |
|
School Mold
Problems
Q.
Use of carpet in schools has become somewhat of a controversial issue.
Could you offer comments on the benefits/risks of carpet in schools? [Jan.
8, 2005]
A.
For the sake of occupant health, carpeting and padding should not be used
in schools, other commercial buildings, apartment buildings, condominiums,
and homes to deny mold food to eat and a place to hide [hidden mold growth
is a huge problem]. The best floors for mold prevention are concrete [with
adequate amounts of waterproofing compound in the concrete mix], marble
[set in cement with waterproofing compound], ceramic tile floors [set in
cement with waterproofing compound, and as the tile grout], and vinyl
tiled floors. If new concrete floors are being poured, in addition to
waterproofing inside the concrete mix, there should be a thick, highest
quality water moisture prevention membrane [not just plastic sheeting]
installed beneath the concrete to prevent ground moisture from wicking up
through the concrete.
Q.
I am writing
this letter because I am very concerned about the
Elementary School
[Baltimore, Maryland] my children attend. A letter was
distributed today that mold has been found in their library and it
was being "cleaned". I entered the library and the mold
smell took my breath away. Upon picking up one of the books,
I realized the pages contained a green dusty substance. It
is my belief that the school is covering up a problem greater than
they want to admit. Several students have had unexplained
nose bleeds, rashes, mouth sores and a teacher recently had a
respiratory infection associated with mold. This is not the
first outbreak of mold in our school. At a recent PTA
meeting, the Principal was asked if the mold had been taken care
of in the Kindergarten class rooms and she replied "yes". Failing to mention that it was now a problem in the library. Can you please point me in the right direction to have our school
analyzed? The school will not provide documents stating what
kind of mold it is nor do I believe they are effectively handling
the problem. Apparently, the school feels, you can just wash
away the mold. Please offer any advise you can [October 20, 2003].
A.
If you so approve and desire, we can post your email [including
the actual Baltimore school name and address that have been
deleted in this posting of your question] on our websites to
help persuade your children's school to do safe and effective
mold inspection, testing, and remediation, and to stop harming
the students' and staff's health by having them study and work
in mold infestation. It would help your cause big-time if you
would use our do it yourself mold test kits to do your own
testing of your children's classrooms and outward air flow form
the heating or cooling duct register in your child's classroom. Once you have back our mold laboratory results documenting a
serious mold problem, you cold then send a certified letter
demanding action to the school principal, school board members,
school superintendent, local health department, county education
department, state health department,
your state's Occupational and Safety Administration [OHSA], and
the local news media [newspapers, radio and TV stations]. The
children and staff should be transferred to mold-safe quarters
until the school has been safely and effectively mold inspected,
tested, and remediated in every classroom, restroom, library,
etc. You should also read the new book
Mold Legal Guide [Mold
Mart]
For more toxic
mold school questions and advice please visit the following links:
[School-Mold-Problem] [School-Mold-Health-Symptoms] [School-Mold-Inspection-Testing]
[Home] [Homeowner-Mold-Analysis] [Home-Selling-Buying-Mold] [Legal Liability] |